Washington
CNN
—
The House voted Friday to pass a controversial bill aimed at increasing so-called parental rights in the classroom, as House Republicans highlighted an issue that has emerged as a key party priority.
The Senate is not expected to take up the bill and Democrats have criticized it as an attempt to turn the classroom into a political battleground. The final tally was 213 to 208, with five Republicans crossing over to vote with all Democrats against the bill.
Among other things, HR 5, also known as the “Parents Bill of Rights Act,” would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require schools to provide parents with a list of textbooks and books available in the school library. such as posting the curriculum to the public.
It would also require elementary and middle schools that receive federal funding to obtain parental consent before “changing a minor child’s gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name in any school form.” ; or allowing a child to change in sex-based child accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.”
In addition, the legislation affirms the rights of parents to respond to school boards and receive information about their child’s violent school activities.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Republican bill “will never see the light of day” in the Senate and called the legislation “Orwellian to the core.”
In remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Schumer described the measure as a “school control bill.”
“If passed, schools across the country will be forced to comply with a panoply of federal regulations that take power away from parents and school districts. Again, let me repeat that: it will take away power from parents and school districts, from teachers, and put it in the hands of elected politicians. Once again, the GOP that loves small government, local control, is long gone, replaced again, to hard-right MAGA ideologues,” Schumer said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, happily walked away from the vote as Republicans lost five votes while Democrats lost zero. “They don’t want to ban books,” he said
At a news conference after the vote, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said, “In this bill we say, parents have a right to be heard. They should be able to go to school board meetings and not be called terrorists.
For Republicans, parental rights to education have emerged as a key political issue during the Covid-19 pandemic, when school closures, along with mask and vaccine mandates, have upended routines. family and revised school leadership assessment. The issue gained prominence among Republicans after Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election following a campaign that put “parental rights” at its center.
Republicans across the country, arguing that discussions of race, gender identity and sexuality are inappropriate for children, have used the banner of “parental rights” to push for a ban on such conversations. in schools, although opinions on the matter differ among people. parents
Critics have widely argued that Republicans are using the issue to turn the classroom into a battleground and advance a political agenda. LGBTQ rights advocates, in particular, argue that this is a conscious effort to stigmatize a vulnerable segment of American society and could have a chilling effect on what they believe are urgently needed discussions.
In some states, such as Texas, Florida and Iowa, parental consent is required to discuss certain topics with students. Some states, such as Georgia, make parents and school communities responsible for checking the books their children encounter at school for signs of racial or sexual themes, which appeals to conservatives who express concerns about “radical” literature.
“I think the pandemic has brought light for many of us mothers and fathers, for the first time, we sit down and we see what our children are being taught through the virtual classroom. And when we see that, “So many of us were disheartened by what we saw – and so we did the right thing, right? We went to our school boards and expressed our anger, but we were turned down,” Republican Rep. Julia Letlow of Louisiana, who sponsored the legislation in the House, said earlier this month.
Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, criticized the bill previously telling CNN, “Parents and voters agree that elected leaders should focus on getting students the individual support they need. , keeping guns in schools, and addressing teacher shortages.”
